Tag Archive: water

Recently, my wife and I picked up some new Brita filters from Sam’s club. Now, while 7 filters for $30 is an amazing deal, what I couldn’t help but think is why are there only 7 filters?

You see, when you open up the package, you’ll find a very commercial looking box which looks like it could be sold as it’s own separate unit containing 4 filters, and another box with the same amount of detail, but only containing 3 filters.

…and then you’ll find the plain white “filler” box, which you can see in the picture.

This plain, white box does more than just serve as a placeholder so the 3-filter box doesn’t slide around, it also serves to be quite an eyesore and a reminder that, while you could have had two fancy looking boxes with 4 filters each, you get one less filter.

Brita, why would you not just put 8 filters in the package and raise the price a tiny bit?

If you’ve optimized your price point with 7 filters, why do you not do something more crafty or creative with your “filler”? Make the package a different shape, or at least decorate the filler box in some way instead of including this eyesore in the package!

It’s great in concept: with minimal capitol equipment you can facilitate the most people washing their hands at any given time.

The issue with this sink is its real-life use: Men don’t like to be awkwardly bent over and shoulder to shoulder with other men washing their hands after they’ve used the restroom (I can’t speak for women, but I assume that this is also the case for you unless you are best friends or unless one of you has recently lent the other some eyeliner, etc).

With this knowledge in hand (and, as I can verify from all of my previous experience with these sinks), we can now see that there is typically only one person using this sink at any given time; which means that, during each use, 75% of the water being sprayed by this sink is being wasted.

On top of this, I would like to argue that there is rarely a case when these sinks are necessary. In the corporate restroom that I most often visit, there are 4 urinals, 4 stalls, and 4 of these sinks (which could each theoretically facilitate 4 people at a time for a grand total of 16 people washing their hands at one time). At most, three of the sinks are being used at a time (with one person at each); therefore, four non-communal sinks could be implemented in this bathroom in place of the 4 communal sinks and there would be less wasted water.

Also, the water coverage for the communal sink is far insufficient in comparison to the typical non-communal sink (as someone must attempt to get soap off of their hands utilizing 6-8 streams the size of mechanical pencil lead refills), the water tends to spray up and get water spots on your pants while you are washing your hands (which can lead to some awkward moments after you leave the bathroom) since the water is shooting at you instead of aiming straight down, and, in the case of our communal sinks, the pedal frequently gets stuck in the “on” position as the equipment has worn over time, so it is not uncommon for these sinks to be stuck spraying when there is no one washing their hands (which, of course, is 100% of the water wasted).

I could see where these sinks could be handy (in very over-crowded conditions like community pools, etc), but this is not the right sink for anything short of such a high-volume venue!!!

While the two water bottles seem quite similar (except the fact that the grey Ironman water bottle holds more water), the Ironman water bottle is indeed the fail, and I knew it was a horribly designed water bottle before I even bought it! (…please don’t ask why I still bought it…it was the best one they had at the time…)

How did I know that this water bottle was so poorly designed before I even picked it up? Because the water bottle came with two extra straws.

This was a clear message to me that the straws were going to wear out. Before I had even bought the water bottle I was thinking about how the straws were going to have to be thrown out in the future. …and what do I do when I run out of straws?!?!

The problem is the way that the straw attaches to the lid:

The straw is shoved over a “hose barb” of sorts. What this means is that, in time, the straw becomes extended and will no longer fit snugly over the barb (so it just falls off into the bottle). You can even see from the picture that the straw is cracked.

So, how do we fix this problem?

For this, we turn to Eddie Bauer (or whoever they pay to design and manufacture this bottle for them).

The Eddie Bauer bottle holds its straw quite differently. The straw press fits (gently) into the lid. It still holds just as securely (if not better, since the straw doesn’t crack), and it can take many, many more insertions.

Tip of the Hat to Eddie Bauer (…or, again, props to whoever designs and manufactures this bottle for them).

Again, my one qualm…

The Eddie Bauer logo is chipping off because of repeated cycles in the dishwasher and some heavy use. If anything is going to wear, make sure it is not your logo! Now, when I look at “Eddie Bauer” it looks sloppy and chipped up and makes the brand seem cheaper. Take care in applying your logo so it will last (unless you’re really not proud of your product, that is)!!!